The Lost Tower: A Fox's Tail
by Neph Champion
Summary: Naruto never expected a routine mission to turn not-so-routine when chasing an A-Rank Nuke-nin. But that was before he was hurled through time and met his father on a mission of his own. And, who is the redhead and that strange brunette? …Foxes? Summoning? What the Hell? I suppose it helps that Metsu doesn't work on the Fox Troop and their summoners…?


Idea: The Lost Tower with a twist.

Summary: Naruto never expected a routine mission to turn not-so-routine when chasing an A-Rank Nuke-nin. But that was before he was hurled through time and met his father on a mission of his own. And, who is the redhead and that strange brunette? …Foxes? Summoning? What the Hell? I suppose it helps that Metsu doesn't work on the Fox Troup and their summoners…?

(The Lost Tower: A Fox's Tail)

"You are going to Kaze no Kuni on a mission for the Kazekage," The Godaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade told the team standing in front of her desk. "You are going to Rouran, to reinforce the seal that the Yondaime placed on the Ryuumiakuu. You are also after Mukade, a Nuke-nin who is after the power of the Ryuumiakuu."

"Yes Hokage-sama!" Team Seven replied smartly.

That had been several days ago, now they were in the middle of the city's ruins, fighting puppets. Naruto (a teenaged Shinobi with short spiky blonde hair and wide diamond blue eyes, which he inherited from his father, and usually wore eye popping orange) went around destroying them with his Rasengan.

"GODDAMNIT NARUTO!" Sakura (a very pretty girl with light pink hair and evergreen eyes who wore a red top and a pail pink skirt-like thing over blue shorts) shouted, scolding Naruto when he was dropped at her feet by one of Sai's (a strange emotionless boy that looked a little like an old teammate of theirs. He had black hair and dark grey eyes and he wore a lot of black) ink creations. "THEY'RE PUPPETS! You don't destroy them, YOU GO FOR THE GODDAMN STRINGS!"

"Sorry Sakura-chan… I forgot dattebayo…" Naruto laughed nervously as he got up, scratching the back of his head. He hated it when she yelled at him, so he tried his hardest not to mess up, he still did from time to time. He might not have that insane crush on her anymore, but he still loved her as a sister and hated disappointing her with his truly _stupid_ moments.

"I know…" Sakura sighed, "Just don't do it again ok? Or else you'll run out of chakra, even with the Kyuubi topping up your reserves constantly…" She told him. "If that happens and you're alone you'll die, and we don't want that."

"I promise Sakura-chan." Naruto told her with a small smile as they climbed onto another of Sai's ink creations, a bird this time.

A Fox's Tail

"You summoned me Sandaime-sama?" a tall blond man asked. This man was tall, with sunshine blond hair and narrow, wise diamond blue eyes, he was young, only around twenty years old and already he was one of the best Shinobi in the village, he was the last of his clan, Namikaze Minato, last holder of the Demon Fox clan's Fox contract.

"Yes Minato." The Sandaime replied, "I have a mission for you, Chouza and Shibi. It's from the Kaze Daimyo."

"Oh?" Minato asked, blinking. "Why did the Kaze Daimyo send this to us?"

Sarutobi shrugged, "Hell if I know, you and your team are headed to Rouran, your mission is to protect the queen, I'll tell you more once Chouza and Shibi show up, you are free to do whatever you like until then."

"Yes Hokage-sama." Minato bowed to the Sandaime and left the office, thinking about what kind of opportunity this would be for Kakashi; he was allowed to add his student to the team, with that in mind, he went to collect his student's file and to find said student. His student would hate him if he left him behind. As team leader (which he usually was), he could make these decisions too. A slight smile curved his lips as he left the building.

A Fox's Tail

Naruto looked around as the bird descended into the chamber that held the Ryuumiakuu, the place was huge.

"So this is what Mukade wants…" he heard Sakura mutter. "Doesn't really look like much from up here."

Naruto snorted, "I actually read about this place and did my homework," He looked at Sakura showing that he could use the brain that he had unknowingly inherited from his father. "The Ryuumiakuu was said to hold unlimited power, kind of like how I am because of Kyuubi. I'm not surprised that someone like Mukade wants it."

"Unlimited?" Sakura asked, "Really?" she was used to these sudden shows of genius by now. She had long ago figured out just _who_ Naruto was …kind of hard not to when there was only _one_ other person who looked like Naruto at all.

Sakura was sure that the Yondaime was proud of his son, wherever he was. She had to fight back a blush when Naruto gave her a dazzling smile, was this how Naruto's mother had fallen?

"Yeah," Naruto answered, leaning forward to get a better look around. "Tsunade-no-baa-chan let me read the report Namikaze-sama filed with the Sandaime twenty years ago before we left."

"Lucky, wish I could have read it too…" Sakura muttered, pouting.

"Namikaze-sama had beautiful handwriting, but the report felt doctored, as if he was leaving a lot out, and it felt like there was a lot of pride behind his words, to someone that he refused to mention, he tried to hide it under the guise of his pride in Kakashi-sensei, but I don't buy that, there was something that he refused to say about the mission." Naruto explained, "It felt like he was struggling not to say something that he wanted to shout from the rooftops… though, I do wonder who Kybi and Shina were…"

Sakura shrugged. "Who knows? But no wonder why Mukade wants this place…" She turned to look back down into the room. "Who wouldn't want unlimited power?"

"Nuke-nin, Hag;" Sai replied, ignorant of Sakura's sudden urge to kill him. "Dickless is right, in fact… I could plausibly see the Akatsuki going after this place if they thought that it would aide in their plans…"

"Mmhmm," Yamato (a Jounin that looked much like the Shodai Hokage and because of an experiment done on him by Orochimaru when he was a baby that enabled him to use the Shodai's Mokuton jutsu. If you asked Naruto, the man was very _scary_) replied.

"Sai no baka…" Sakura muttered under her breath as Naruto held her back with a hand on her shoulder.

Naruto nodded, "Let's hope he didn't just jinx us…"

A Fox's Tail

Minato grinned when he found Kakashi and was about to call out to him when he was grabbed by the arm from behind and dragged into a nearby alleyway. When he saw it was just his sensei, Minato lips curled into a tiny, foxy smirk and one of his eyebrows rose. He wondered what his sensei wanted. "Ne… I am kind of busy Sensei… what do you want?"

His eyebrow rose farther as he struggled to suppress his laughter when Jiraiya produced the Rasengan for him, "Ta-da! Go ahead and gaze in awe at your sensei." He heard Jiraiya brag.

Minato snickered, "That's pretty good Ero-sensei…. [1] But am I supposed to be impressed?" he began to purr loudly as he laughed, "How long did it take you, six months? It took Kakashi-kit _four_…" Minato turned and walked away, still sniggering and purring, from his stuttering, blustering, _speechless_ teacher.

"Yo, Kakashi-kit," Minato called, having already retrieved the boy's file. "Time to go, we've got us a mission!"

"Coming Tou-sensei," [2] Kakashi called back before excusing himself from his friends ("They aren't my _friends_ Tou-san!") and dashed to Minato's side, following behind him obediently, "Where we going?"

"Can't tell you, you aren't officially part of the mission yet," Minato chided him, "You must be patient, I'm sure Sandaime-sama will add you to the mission, why do you think I have your file with me?" Minato smirked down at the ten-year-old Chuunin.

Kakashi pouted. "…Ok…" He couldn't help but grin though, when he heard Minato's purring laughter.

A Fox's Tail

"So this is the Ryuumiakuu," Naruto mused quietly, "We know he's here because of the puppets outside, so, why haven't we seen him yet?"

Sai shrugged, "Maybe he doesn't consider you worthy Dickless?"

Naruto gave Sai a very foxlike snarl. "Laugh it up _Faker_!" he growled, fighting to keep himself under control. "We know he's here, we just have to find him…"

Sakura nodded. "That's right, it doesn't matter if he shows himself or not, we _will_ find him."

Naruto nodded as he began walking down the bridge to the seal. "So that's the seal huh?"

A Fox's Tail

Minato turned to Kakashi when they arrived, smirking when he saw Chouza and Shibi already there. "Wait out here ne, 'Kashi-kit, this won't take long."

"Yes Minato-sensei." Kakashi nodded, taking a seat in the waiting room.

Minato entered the office first, claiming the title of Taichou in the process. "Sandaime-sama, I'd like to add Hatake Kakashi to the mission." Minato handed the file he had been carrying under his arm to the Hokage. "I believe he can only benefit from this mission."

Sarutobi took the file, opening it. "Are you sure about this Minato?" he asked, "Kakashi is very young…"

Minato bristled. "I have the upmost faith in Kakashi's abilities. Or are you doubting my teaching ability?" he asked in a very quiet but _very_ deadly voice. "My student may be young but he is also the best!"

Chouza and Shibi took one step back at Minato's tone. Usually the young Jounin Sensei was jovial and always wore a playful smile. He was nice to _everyone_. Questioning his ability or Kakashi's was like a death wish. "I didn't mean it like that Minato…" the Sandaime tried to placate the bristling Fox Summoner, "I mean that he is only a Chuunin whereas the three of you are Jounin. Would he be able to keep up with you?"

How _dare_ the Alpha Todd [3] question his judgment concerning _his_ student! No one knew Kakashi's abilities better than he did! Minato struggled to keep himself calm; if he attacked the Hokage over something as small as this he could kiss his dream of succeeding the older man goodbye. "You are forgetting just _who I am_ Sarutobi-sama," Minato hissed; "He can and _will_ keep up with us."

"Yes Minato, I see. Then he will be part of the mission. I have not forgotten Minato," Hiruzen sighed, surrendering, "If I may make a suggestion?"

Minato nodded, cocking his head to one side, his temper cooling rapidly now that Kakashi was part of the team. "What is it Hokage-sama?"

"I know that you usually don't summon them, but I have a feeling the Foxes will be needed for this mission."

Minato tensed, was he _really_ suggesting that he reveal who he was? That he throw all the hard work he had done to protect himself from his clan's enemies out the window. "Do you have _any idea_ how much danger My Vixen and My Kit will be in if I do that?" He hissed.

"You don't have any kids Minato." Sarutobi told him, as if it was obvious.

"I'm talking about _Kakashi_!" Minato snarled, "Who do you think has been taking care of him for the past _four years_?"

Hiruzen sighed; this wasn't going the way it was supposed to. Minato was misinterpreting everything he was trying to say, not that it was really his fault… "Dismissed."

Minato gave one last snarl before leaving the room. Of course the Sandaime didn't know about how Kakashi had been living with him and His Vixen, he had never checked up on the boy, being too busy as the Hokage. He clenched his fists, trying to calm down.

"Tou-san," Kakashi asked quietly, getting up and walking to his Sensei's side, taking the blond's hand like a scared child searching for comfort would. "Is everything ok Minato-sensei?"

Minato sighed. "I'm fine Kaka-kit…" He murmured, burying his face into the boy's hair for a minute. How could Sarutobi-sama even think of putting his family at such risk? It was only because he had always used the toads that people were forgetting the Fox Demon Clan of Whirlpool and then Konoha…

He didn't notice the Sandaime watching, or listening. Trying to figure out just what Minato had been talking about. What he saw was surprising, though Chouza and Shibi looked unfazed. "Did you know?" the Hokage asked them.

"We did Hokage-sama," Chouza answered, "We've known for a long time."

"Was I the last to learn?"

"Yes sir, Minato sees Kakashi as his kid; it's why he adds –kit to Kakashi's name."

"I see."

A Fox's Tail

Naruto looked up when he heard evil laughter. "There he is." The Lost Namikaze Heir muttered, making his way towards their target with increasing speed. "We can't let him touch the Yondaime's Seal!"

"He doesn't know how to unravel it, we should be safe…" Yamato trailed off when he noticed that Naruto hadn't stopped. "Oi, Naruto, come back!"

"No!" Naruto called back, looking over his shoulder at the man, "We can't let him even _touch_ Yondaime-sama's Seal Yamato-taichou!"

But it was too late; Mukade had already pulled the three-pronged Kunai from its resting place. "You can't stop me, boy; I'll just absorb the Seal!"

"NO!" Naruto yelled, snarling.

A Fox's Tail

Minato came to a sudden stop when he felt a pulse of chakra not unlike a heartbeat in his mind, and suddenly he could feel the pulsing of a chakra that felt like his girlfriend's, a lonely, lonely chakra that he could only describe felt like a lost and lonely child searching for a parent that was no longer there…

Minato could feel the chakra reaching out, searching. Almost instinctively he reached out with a tail's worth of his own chakra; nearly falling off his branch when a connection snapped almost violently into place, it caused a pain in his heart as he felt the terrible loneliness that the barer of the chakra had lived through. Someone else was here. A kit, "I hate to admit it…" Minato muttered, "But Sarutobi-sama was right…" And from the way his chakra resonated with this new chakra signature, it was _his Kit_.

His team had stopped and was now looking back at him. "Minato-taichou," Chouza called, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Minato called back as he carefully blanked his mind, hands automatically running through the sequence of hand seals used for summoning, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu." Minato pushed enough chakra into the summoning to call the Boss and her oldest daughter.

Minato jumped to the side as the smoke cleared, revealing the Fox Boss Kybi and her daughter Shina. "You need something Minato-kit? You don't usually summon us anymore…" Kybi commented.

"I'm sorry, Okaa-sama." Minato grinned behind his mask, "There is an unidentified kit in the city, I need someone to go on ahead and figure out what is going on."

"Of course Minato-kit, Shina?" the redhead replied, looking at her daughter.

"Yes Mother." The brunette responded.

A Fox's Tail

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the wall of pink energy approaching him, he made to turn around but was picked up by the peripheral of the blast. "Yamato-taichou!" he shouted as he was engulfed by the energy, he could feel the wood of his Taichou's special jutsu surround him before his world went dark.

When he came to, he was in a new place, and strange as it was, he felt out of place, as if he didn't belong. It looked like he was in a garden of some kind and he could hear quiet singing…

Naruto sat up, blinking, looking around he noticed that he was in an underground room of some kind. But, who did that voice belong to? There were strange (rock?) formations around him that he could see, and there was a woman nearby, that must be the singing he had heard before…

He turned and saw a beautiful woman that Namikaze-sama had described as the queen of Rouran, Sara. He watched her for a moment before deciding to approach her. "Oi," he called out quietly, trying not to startle her.

Startled, she turned to him and then made a run for it. He followed her until two puppets he recognized as Mukade's appeared in front of her. After seeing the puppets fall to pieces when they entered the room he was in he figured that the place must be a safe house of some kind. But before he could follow her, the doors closed. He sighed cursing silently. "I didn't mean to _do that_…"

Naruto growled lightly, backing up so he could look around. He wasn't going to stay here, he had to find Yamato-taichou and Mukade… looking around, he spied a skylight above him. "I can use that to get out of here…" He realized as he leapt up the walls using the Tree Climbing Chakra exercise.

Naruto gasped when he finally got out of the underground room. Towers were everywhere. "Is this… But then how…?" he gazed around, amazed at what he was seeing. Namikaze-sama's descriptions didn't do the city justice at all.

He began scaling one of the nearby towers to get a look around. He only got halfway up the tower before he noticed familiar puppets following him. "Oh great, this just isn't my day is it?"

Naruto began jumping, trying to avoid the puppets. "I just _had_ to go after Mukade didn't I?" The young blond scolded himself quietly, "Just my luck that I'd be flung through time… when I landed is still up in the air too…" It had to be at least twenty years though, because the site wasn't the ruin that his team had found, but a bustling, busy, prosperous city! He didn't know if any of his teammates followed through time other than Yamato-taichou, but he really hoped that they hadn't.

Naruto began cutting at the strings, only to find that doing so left him totally open to attacks. "Screw this…" Naruto muttered as he landed on one of the random bridges again and ran towards the archway, skidding to a halt as _even more_ puppets appeared. "This sucks, dattebayo… why me? This just isn't my day _at all_…" he moaned, whining slightly as he again leapt away. The only thing he seemed to be able to do was _run_.

A Fox's Tail

Minato took a deep breath as he knelt when they got to the outskirts of the city. He pressed a fingertip to the ground closing his eyes. In his mind's eye the cityscape before him unfolded, he could literally feel the chakra flowing through the pipes. Using his Sensor abilities (the few he had), he was able to locate the kit that he had felt earlier. The… _his_ kit was near the center of the city, it wouldn't take long to get to the kit's side, but he could sense the growing mass of the extremely potent Chakra Rouran was known for surrounding the kit.

Minato opened his eyes when he felt Kybi's and Shina's eyes on his back. "Near the center, go, _quickly_!"

Shina and Kybi nodded, both shifting into animal form (for Kybi, she had to tightly control her size or she'd be as big as a mountain) and darted away from the team.

Minato turned to his teammates, "'Kashi-kit, I need you to head to the western most point of the city, there you will find a _Konoha_ Jounin that we have never met, I need you to get rid of any and all puppets that are pursuing him, if any. After you do, stay with him until I call for you." Minato whispered into the child's ear, "He must have appeared when the other Chakra signature did, he must be important so bring him with you got it?"

"Yes Minato-sensei," Kakashi nodded as Minato finally stood, "I understand."

"Good, off you go then." Minato replied, "I have to go after my foxes."

Kakashi leapt away from the rest of the team, knowing that this was the reason why his Sensei had brought him on the mission.

A Fox's Tail

In another part of the city, two large dog sized foxes (one red with nine tails the other black with four tails) sprinted though the towers. "_We must be getting close; I can feel Minato-san's kit's chakra is much closer, I hope we can find him in time…_" [4] The black fox said telepathically to her mother.

"_I'm sure we will Shina_," The red fox responded, "_Minato-kit trusts us to protect his own kit until he can take over himself_." Minato would soon be following them and they had to find the kid quickly. His chakra was fluctuating, that meant that he was scared or in a fight or both, in which case he was fighting for his life.

They found the blond kit just as he was flung downward, crashing into one of the building's basement. They nearly jumped in when he pulled himself into a sitting position and began to frantically parry and block every strike that he was able to. They could see the sweat rolling off of him; the look in his eyes spurred them into action.

Kybi and Shina fell on the puppets as Minato made his appearance. He appeared out of nowhere, grabbed his kit and then was gone just as fast. The two foxes landed on the puppets just after the two blonds disappeared and began tearing them apart.

A Fox's Tail

Minato sat the blond boy down gently and pulled out his first aid kit as he checked for injuries. He bit his lip, feeling bad for not getting to _his_ kit sooner. There was a large gash in one of his kit's legs, which Minato quickly disinfected and bound, watching the boy out of the corner of his eye behind his mask. Minato studied the boy; he had the short blond spiky hair and the diamond blue eyes that were prominent in the Namikaze clan. The shape of his eyes were wide like his Vixen's and the bridge of his nose was just slightly crooked [5] like his own, unless one knew that his nose was crooked though, they wouldn't see it. Minato was sure that he'd make a fine sensei one day, if not Hokage. He was glad that his kit had his nose.

"Who are you?" Minato heard the boy ask quietly and smiled. If this kit was anything like his father then he would have to be careful.

"You have nothing to fear," Minato settled for, taking off his mask just enough for his kit to see the Konoha symbol on his headgear, "We are also Konoha Shinobi."

"But…" The youth tried to continue, Minato cut him off, not wanting his kit to get hurt if he could help it.

"Don't argue with me, Kit." Minato growled quietly, he wasn't really angry, but something told him that his kit had never really had good encounters with authority figures. Minato didn't want to scare his kit; he just wanted to be obeyed, which was why his growl had been a soft growl instead of a hard snarl. He did the same with Kakashi; especially when Kakashi was feeling even slightly rebellious.

Naruto froze at the sound of the soft, authoritative growl. He had read about the habits that the Yondaime was known for and shut his mouth, having been ready to argue. That growl said 'obey me or suffer my wrath'. That was something Naruto _never_ wanted to endure. An angry Yondaime was a _scary as hell_ Yondaime. No one wanted to be the target of Namikaze Minato's anger, or ire. Naruto nodded mutely, deciding that it was better to just obey. "…Yes Sir…" he finally replied in a tiny voice.

Minato stood giving his kit's face a searching look and then nodded. "Shina, Kybi," he called; his voice was strong yet soft and spoke of undeniable authority.

Naruto blinked as two foxes, one black the other red, appeared on either side of him. Naruto's eyes widened. Foxes? Even in Naruto's time, everyone knew how dangerous a Namikaze was when he had a fox with him, and for this guy to have _two_… Naruto swallowed, trying to make himself as small as he could.

"_We are here Minato-kit._" Naruto heard drift across his mind as the larger red fox rubbed against the Last Namikaze. "_What do you need of us now?_"

"_Keep My Kit out of trouble, we need to meet with the Queen._" Minato's mental voice was soft and warm, causing Naruto to shiver pleasantly. "_Watch My Kit, I don't want to find him dead._"

"_Of course, what of your Blood Adopted kit?_" The black fox asked; brushing against the man as she walked passed him to stand next to Naruto. "_Will we need to watch him too?_"

"_No, I can trust him to stay out of trouble,_" Naruto could just _tell_ that The Last Namikaze was smirking under his mask, "_Even if I can't trust his little brother to do the same. Keep my Kit safe._" [6]

Naruto blinked, he hadn't understood what they had been talking about so he acted as if he hadn't heard a thing. But it set his mind whirling, he wasn't stupid, he just acted that way. It was a way to keep the idiot civilians from doing more than just shunning him to the extreme. At least even the most inexperienced of the Shinobi and Kunoichi understood the concept of sealing scrolls… even if that _was_ overly simplifying the seal on his belly. Because, in the most basic sense, he was a scroll and Kyuubi (awesome advice giver that he was) was just a glorified Kunai…

"**Must you compare me to a simple tool Naruto-kit?**" Naruto heard the soft deep voice of the Kyuubi ask. "**I am more than a tool! I am one of the protectors of the Namikaze and Uzumaki Clans.**"

'I know that Kyuubi-sama, but no one else in the village seems to…' Naruto replied as he listened to Namikaze-sama give him instructions on how to get out of the city and promise to share Intel about the mission he was on later.

'The sad thing is…' Naruto mused to himself and Kyuubi, "that there probably won't _be_ a later…" he sighed as he stood, not even aware that he had spoken aloud.

Minato gave his kit a concerned look before using Shunshin to leave him there with Shina and Kybi. "_Be careful kit, especially if you choose to stay in the city._" He sent to his son, concern and slight fear coating his mental voice clearly. His Vixen would _flay him alive_ if he let anything happen to the kit and she found out about it.

"**You should reply Naruto-kit.**" Kyuubi told him, the huge fox had only recently started to regain his mind and now felt bad about wanting to hurt the boy.

'But how do I do that, Kyuubi-sama?' Naruto asked.

"**It should be instinctive, just reach out with your mind as you would with your Chakra.**" The fox replied.

'Ok…' Naruto closed his eyes and reached out shakily, finding three minds to connect to, only one, felt like the one that had just spoken to him, "_I-I will…_"

Minato blinked then smiled. "_That's my kit…_" He whispered into Naruto's mind before he severed the connection. "Let's go." He said to his companions, "We must explain the circumstances to the Queen."

Naruto eyed the two foxes warily; Namikaze-sama had called him… Kit. And that golden hair, he saw that every single day when he looked in the mirror! His mind worked furiously. He may not have been able to see Namikaze Minato's face, but the taller blond had been able to see his. 'Could he be my father?' Naruto asked himself, not really directing the question to anyone. Namikaze Minato was the name of the man that became the Yondaime, but that wasn't supposed to happen just yet. Naruto was now able to narrow down the timeframe he was in slightly, but to really tell, he'd have to see his Sensei, know how old he was. "If I am sixteen now…" Naruto muttered, not aware of the fact that he was thinking aloud _again_, "Then, if (and this really is a big if) Kaka-sensei is ten, knowing that he was fourteen the day I was born…"

The two foxes shared amused glances; this was Minato's kit alright…

"Oh right…" Naruto gasped, "I have to find the others… I wonder where they are…" Naruto left, followed by Kybi and Shina; he went through the archway, but stayed in the city.

"_You promised our Summoner that you would be careful._" The red fox reminded Naruto softly.

Naruto nodded, trying to ignore just how comfortable and _safe_ he felt with not one but _two_ Foxes on his side, 'Note to self: Kyuubi-sama, please remind me to research the Namikaze clan when we get home…' the young blond thought.

"**Of course Naruto-kit,**" Kyuubi replied.

Naruto tried not to grin, his comrades always found it slightly disturbing because they didn't know that he and Kyuubi could communicate. Heck, most of them didn't even know about Kyuubi.

A Fox's Tail

Minato watched the queen intently, her red hair was nice, but it couldn't hold a candle the bloody crimson hair that belonged to his girlfriend: Uzumaki Kushina. This girl was nothing like the woman that Minato had fallen so hard for.

"Minato-taichou," Shibi whispered urgently.

"Yes Shibi, what is it?" Minato asked, not taking his eyes off their target.

It's that boy from before," the Aburame murmured, pointing the youth out when Minato gave him a look, "Just there, by the wall."

'What _is_ my kit doing…?' Minato wondered silently, 'Ah… he must be looking for the Jounin I sent 'Kashi-kit to look after…'

Minato's sharp eyes then noticed something amiss. Someone had pushed the Queen, on top of that, part of the platform collapsed under her, causing her to fall several stories. He watched with bated breath as his _still injured_ kit caught her and slid down the side of the tower. Minato winced under his mask as he watched his kit's injured leg give out underneath him. "Let's go."

Naruto winced as his leg gave out under him, sending him and the queen crashing to the ground as soon as he landed, the queen, fortunately fell into his lap. "Are you ok?" Naruto asked, "Are you Queen Sara?"

She seemed to take offence (of _what_ Naruto had no clue…) because she then slapped him silly for no reason while calling him a pervert. Naruto was sure that he was the only one to feel the slightest bit of killing intent coming from where he knew Namikaze-sama was. "I did just save your life you know; you could at least thank me and _pretend to be grateful_ before calling me a perv…" Naruto muttered half to himself as he rubbed one of his throbbing cheeks. 'Sheesh! Save the girl's life and this is the thanks I get?' he thought sarcastically. He hadn't even tried to be a pervert! Maybe next time he just shouldn't bother…

_"Didn't I tell you to be careful if you stayed in the city, My Kit?"_ Minato asked his kit in a slightly amused, slightly scolding tone. _"I expected you to listen to me!"_

Naruto flinched, oh great! Namikaze-sama was irritated! _"…S-sorry…"_

Naruto tried to focus on the queen, who had just apologized and thanked him. "I'm…" He hesitated, not sure if he should introduce himself or not but then shrugged internally, figuring that Namikaze Minato, as a Seal Master would have a seal somewhere in that brilliant mind of his that could erase memories and thus preserve the timeline, barreled on; "Uzumaki Naruto; and I happen to be hunting a Missing Nin who was said to be in the city somewhere…"

Minato simply smiled at the admission, he was glad that he had a name for his kit now. _"Naruto… Yes… I like that name…"_ his mental voice brushed against Naruto's mind lovingly, softly, _"My prefect little Maelstrom…"_

Naruto tilted his head down so that no one would see his flushed cheeks, inside his chest, a strange warmth had ignited, Namikaze-sama was… _"T-thank you…"_ This man had to be… but Naruto knew he shouldn't entertain any ideas like that without at least seeing Namikaze Minato's face first.

Naruto flinched when she started denying everything. He fought the urge to sigh as he looked up at the three with a bewildered expression, he was sure that he wasn't the only one confused, he hadn't mentioned anyone being _after her_ after all…

_"Let me help you up, Naruto-kit."_ Minato's soft voice sounded in Naruto's mind as he held out a hand for the younger blond to take. _"We should get out of the open, the queen is exposed and you are injured."_

Naruto nodded, taking the man's hand. _"Thank you again… Namikaze-sama…"_ He whispered, he didn't want to offend the man by making the wrong assumption, especially if Naruto was wrong about the man being his father, it was just better not to risk it. It just wasn't worth it.

Several minutes later, they were in a hallway in one of the towers near where the queen had nearly fallen to her death. Naruto watched the older blond as he reached up to take his mask off. "So, you decided to stay in the city after all…" Namikaze-sama sighed, "I suppose there's no point in hiding my face from you anymore…" he pulled the mask off.

Naruto's eyes widened as a pair of equally (but narrow) diamond blue eyes met his own. He was pretty sure that for a moment, he'd forgotten how to breathe. Those were his eyes, though, obviously, he'd gotten the shape of his eyes from his mother. "You-you're…" Naruto swallowed, _"...My Father…"_

Namikaze-sama smirked. "I knew there was no point in hiding my face…" his eyes softened slightly, _"Tell me, did you read the report that you know I'm going to write?"_

Naruto nodded wordlessly. He still wasn't breathing; Minato must have noticed; for he stepped forward, cuffing his son over the back of his head, just hard enough to shock the boy into breathing again.

Naruto gasped as his head snapped forwards from the contact, he rubbed the back of his head, more out of embarrassment then any real pain because the blow _hadn't hurt_. "…Why…?" he almost silently asked.

Minato didn't answer him aloud, _"You weren't breathing kit; did my face really shock you that much?"_ One of Minato's eyebrows rose in amusement, his lips curving into a familiar smirk. A smirk that Naruto only used when he found something extremely amusing.

Naruto blushed in embarrassment. "If I open my mouth you're just going to tell me not to say anything aren't you…?" he paused, _"Father?"_ He finished mentally.

Minato smirked. "You will have to stay with the queen Naruto," he whispered, _"My team and I shall search for your Missing Nin in the meantime."_

_"But-"_ Naruto tried to protest, his job wasn't to protect Sara; it was to kill Mukade. Upon seeing the look in his father's eyes however, Naruto silenced himself. "I understand…"

"Good." Minato grinned down at his son, glad that he didn't have to pull rank like with Kakashi. _"Besides, it is quite likely that your target is near the queen, we kill two birds with one stone this way."_

Naruto nodded once, "Right…" Naruto shivered as he felt Minato's mind brush against his and the surprise that came from his father's mind when Kyuubi-sama reached out and brushed loving against them both. Naruto looked up into slightly widened eyes.

Minato grit his teeth slightly when He felt Kyuubi-sama's power brush against his mind, _"Kyuubi-sama…_" he breathed sadly, unable to keep his reaction internal, he turned away. _"Don't tell me…"_ he whispered against Naruto's mind and Kakashi's, _"Something happens to her… doesn't it?"_ His Vixen was going to… die? No, she couldn't die; he would _never_ let her die!

**"I am sorry, Minato-kit."** Kyuubi whispered.

_"…Tou-san, are you ok?"_ Kakashi called from another part of the city as he kept an eye on his charge.

Minato turned to look out the stained glass windows, _"I'm fine 'Kashi. Is the Jounin still with you?"_

_"…Yes, but, Minato-sensei, what do you want me to do with him?"_ Kakashi asked, sensing Naruto with the man. _"He keeps muttering about how he needs to be around to prevent Kyuubi from escaping a… Naruto?"_

_"Naruto is your brother."_ Minato whispered into Kakashi's mind, glancing at the younger blond as he spoke to his young student/adopted child, _"Naruto is with me, you can reassure this Jounin that Kyuubi-sama would never try to hurt Naruto, or any of us."_

_"Yes Tou-san,"_ Kakashi replied, turning to Yamato. "Naruto-san will be fine. Kyuubi-sama would never hurt him, or anyone else."

Yamato just gave Kakashi a disbelieving look in reply.

Minato closed his eyes fighting the tears building up in them. 'I shouldn't ask… I _can't_…' But… his Uzu-hime… _"Kyuubi-sama…?"_

**"I'm sorry Minato-kit…"** Kyuubi whispered into the older Namikaze's mind, sharing his memory of that night. **"I know that you don't want to mess with the timeline, but do you really want Naruto-kit to grow up without you?"**

_"…I… do not, Kyuubi-sama…"_ Minato whispered as he flinched, trying very hard not to be sick at the images he'd been given. His kit was the last of what were once two great clans! He filed the images away for later, when he could be alone. He couldn't afford to break down on this mission, he could see the Hero-Worship in his young son's eyes and didn't want to crush the boy's expectations.

_"Otou-sama, are you feeling well? You look a bit pale…"_ Naruto whispered into his father's mind. _"Do you need to… maybe… take a break from the mission for a bit? I'll stay with Sara. Promise…"_

Minato looked down into his son's eyes, "Chouza, Shibi, stay here with Sara-sama."

"Yes sir."

"Walk with me, Naruto-kit." Minato whispered, "Kybi-sama, Shina-san, please follow."

_"Yes Minato-kit."_ Replied Kybi as Minato grabbed Naruto's wrist and began pulling him away from the group.

_"Kashi-kit,"_ Minato called, _"Leave the Jounin with our teammates and come find me."_

_"Right away Tou-san,"_ Kakashi replied, "Follow me please Jounin-san." Kakashi grabbed Yamato and shunshin'd to Shibi and Chouza. "Stay here please."

Yamato blinked when his younger senpai left him there with Chouza-san and Shibi-san. "…What the hell?" He asked no one.

Shibi and Chouza looked at each other. "It's a Clan issue I think." Chouza answered.

A Fox's Tail

Kakashi quickly caught up with Minato and Naruto, "Tou-san?" he asked as he watched his sensei drop the younger blond's wrist, he could tell, just by his sensei's posture that the man was deeply upset about something.

Both younger boys flinched when the older blond suddenly turned and punched the wall as hard as he could with a snarl painted across his face, Minato panted as he tried to keep himself under control, but both his sons could see his fisted hands shaking in pent-up rage. A deep green aura of chakra radiated around his form, quickly condensing into seven tails.

Kakashi and Naruto traded fearful glances, "Tou-san?" Kakashi asked, "Are you ok?"

"No…" Minato snarled, his bangs covering his eyes, causing Naruto and Kakashi to shrink into the Fox Summons sides. His concealment jutsu wavered as he almost lost control. Naruto blinked as he noticed his father's nails lengthen into wickedly sharp claws, his incisors grow to fangs and his ears reshape themselves into fox ears. And, if his bangs hadn't been obscuring the view of his eyes, they would have seen his fox-like slitted pupils.

The red fox shifted forms and pushed Naruto to Shina before stepping forward and embracing the elder Namikaze's shaking shoulders. "Hush Minato-kit, you are scaring them."

Minato took a deep shaky breath, "Forgive me, my Okaa-sama." He whispered, tears flowing down his cheeks as he opened his mind to her so that she could help him deal with the images that Kyuubi-sama had given him. "But my kits…"

"Sh…" Kybi rested her forehead against Minato's as he shared his new knowledge, and Kyuubi's memories of Naruto's childhood.

"…How?" They heard Minato ask, "How can they say that they love me and then hate my kit at the same time?" He questioned her, one of the worst fears that everyone in his clan shared was the fear of being isolated. The Namikaze Clan was very social and tightly bound by their ties to their family and the teams they were part of. "How can they praise me for my abilities in Ninjutsu and Fuinjutsu in one breath and demean and insult my _youngest kit_ with the next?"

Kakashi slipped passed Shina and ghosted to Minato's side as Kybi pet his hair. "I wouldn't let them hurt him Tou-san; I doubt they would do that…"

Naruto bit his lip, "They just don't understand; it's only the civilians that do it, and they've never attacked me that I can remember…" He looked up when he felt their eyes, "Even the most inexperienced of the Shinobi and Kunoichi (that are in the know and even the ones that aren't) understand the basic concept behind what a Jinjuuriki is, it's only the civilians that don't." he faltered.

"Go on." Minato encouraged from the Fox Boss's arms. "What have you done to protect yourself?"

"I'm not stupid," Naruto muttered, "You aren't, I know you aren't. Okaa-sama isn't either is she?" he asked, looking up at his father questioningly.

"No, My Vixen is extremely intelligent, you have to be to create seals the way she and I do." Minato replied. "Why?"

"In order to keep the civilians from doing anything more than shunning me to the extreme, I act as stupid as I can. They think that I am Kyuubi-sama; and that Kyuubi-sama is a monster…" Naruto explained feebly, looking away. "A stupid, weak monster is less of a threat…"

Kybi's grip on Minato tightened as the elder blond growled. "The only reason he was like that was that he was in pain that night!" He buried his face into Kybi's shoulder. "But… I can deal with that at a later date." Minato pulled away, "Let's get back."

A Fox's Tail

Chouza, Shibi and Yamato looked up when they heard quiet chatting and footsteps approaching. They saw Naruto walking next to Minato-taichou and Kakashi riding on Minato's back. Minato's eyes were soft as he listened to Kakashi and Naruto chat about training.

"…And then when I found him, Sasuke was neck-deep in the ground!" Naruto exclaimed quietly, laughing. "He always made fun of me for being dead last in class, not that I wanted to be there, I trained for hours and hours every day. All of the instructors except for Homeroom, Iruka-sensei hated my guts and ignored me whenever I had a question, sometimes they even sent me home for wanting to clarify on anything. It wasn't until we had some observation homework that I started wondering about Tou-chan and Kaa-chan…"

Minato turned soft eyes on the blond, "Oh really? What was it?"

"I was given an old Bingo Book to try and identify cousins, siblings, that kind of thing. Since I'm an orphan and have no pictures of you and Kaa-sama," Naruto explained, "But when I opened the book, it fell open on the Us, and I found Uzumaki…" Naruto looked away, "I love Kaa-chan's hair, it's so pretty."

"That was the first thing I noticed as well Naruto-kit." Minato smiled, "I could see her inner strength and just who she'd grow up to be too, the only time I saved her was when Kumo tried to take her away from us. And even then I was just helping her to save herself. I knew that she could take care of herself so I let her. I tried to impress her, to prove that even though she could take care of herself, I'd be there, just in case she couldn't handle it." Minato chuckled.

"That didn't go well, did it Tou-san?" Kakashi asked chuckling, he loved hearing these stories. Hearing Minato-sensei reminisce like this was nice too.

"Nope, she didn't like it at all." Minato replied, "I think at first, she resented me, because it seemed like I was useless; following here everywhere and then when she got into trouble I wouldn't help, even when though I was right there." Minato looked sideways at Kakashi, "Though why you are asking I don't know, Kaka-kit, you already know these stories…"

Kakashi blushed, "I love your stories though Tou-san…" he mumbled by way of explanation.

Minato sighed. "…Right." He grinned, "I can already tell that you take a lot after your mother Naruto-kit…"

Naruto looked away, blushing. "Tou-sama…"

Minato reached out, feeling Kakashi use a tiny bit of chakra to stick to his back and ruffled his son's already messy hair. "You are even stronger than she was, is; it puts my mind at ease to know that you will be able to take such good care of yourself, even without us there to guide you."

Naruto's blush deepened slightly, looking into his father's warm, soft eyes.

"However," Minato eyed their Foxes. "I regret that the thought of summoning Kybi-sama never once crossed my mind. You might have at least had My Vixen to take care of you otherwise."

Naruto hid his face, his eyes watering behind his bangs. "It was an emergency. I'm not surprised that even you forgot about something like that… since, you know, you don't use them anymore…"

_"If I had thought of it you would not have lost us."_ Minato breathed into his son's mind. _"It wasn't even Kyuubi-sama's fault; he had gone insane from the pain of being ripped from his comfortable seal."_

Naruto nodded in understanding, ignoring the questioning looks of Shino and Chougi's fathers and Yamato's gaping. He blinked when he felt his father brush cheeks with him gently, "Tou…"

"Shh…" Minato whispered, pulling away after the traditional greeting/comforting gesture was complete. "It is now that we must part ways, for the moment. Kakashi, you take the Jounin, Kybi-sama, Shina-san, stay with Naruto." He reached up and gently brushed his son's tears away, causing Naruto to look up at him. Minato gave him a small sad smile.

Kakashi leapt from Minato's back, saluted and then grabbed Yamato-taichou and disappeared, Shina brushed against Naruto's left side as Kybi nodded to Minato, "We have work to do kit, let's go." She murmured into Naruto's ear.

Naruto nodded to her hesitantly and gave his father a short bow in acknowledgement before following the queen out of the hall. He shot one last look at his father before running after the queen.

Minato turned to his team, "Let's go."

"Yes Minato-taichou!"

A Fox's Tail

Naruto caught up to Sara just as she was pulled into a dark room. He growled quietly and followed them, he needed to defend her, and he'd promised his father that he would. He couldn't go back on his word now, especially not when the promise had been made to his father.

Not even a minute after jumping in front of to protect her, one of his eyebrows rose in amusement at the civilians that only wanted their loved ones back. "I have a feeling that I'm going to regret this but…" Naruto muttered to himself, "We'll certainly help you."

A Fox's Tail

Minato watched as his son uncovered the truth for the queen with a small proud smile on his face. The fact that there were so many puppets spoke volumes of the Missing Nin's abilities, Mukade, Minato remembered Naruto telling him. He clung to the pipe expertly, following the two as they traversed the streets. _"Kakashi, you'll be needed soon."_ He told his student.

_"Yes Tou-san, I am ready to move at any time."_ Kakashi replied as he tightened the ropes on his almost frantic capt-no charge. _"I had to tie the Jounin up because he started panicking the moment he and I left you and Otouto. Tell me what I need and it'll be ready when we make our move to take out the enemy."_

Minato nodded silently, keeping the connection open as he followed them underground. He gasped as he watched Naruto try and handle all the puppets on his own, he felt his heart sink as the puppet parts started to encase his younger kit's body. He had banished all but one on his tails. He didn't like what he was seeing at all!

Minato held his breath as he watched the huge puppet began to glow an angry red, his smile becoming vicious as he realized that Kyuubi would never let anything hurt Naruto if he could help it. _"Kakashi, get here now! And make sure to bring your explosive tags!"_

_"On my way Sensei!"_ Kakashi replied hastily, the young Chuunin quickly made his way to his sensei's location, watching in amazement as Naruto worked for a minute before he flung several kunai into the battlefield, attached to the exploding tags that his had with him. He was extremely happy when he watched Naruto gather the kidnapped citizens of Rouran and get them out of harm's way.

Minato jumped down when Naruto and the queen, with the help of the two fox summons had herded the people of Rouran back to the center of the city. "What happened?" Minato asked Naruto as the elder blond checked the younger for injuries. "I couldn't see anything after Kakashi threw those tags."

"I'm fine Tou-sama," Naruto protested, "Mukade pulled a Sasori [7] that's all…" Dealing with said Suna S-rank Nuke-nin had _not_ been fun… Heck, hearing about it from Sakura made him wince in sympathy!

"…'Pulled a Sasori' what's that mean?" Minato asked in confusion. "And who is Sasori?"

"Akasuna no Sasori was the name of a Nuke-nin that worked in a group called the Akatsuki," Naruto explained, "They want the Bijuu for something, not sure what yet, but you'll see what I mean in a second."

Mukade made his appearance just as Naruto finished speaking and used his Ryuumiakuu-supped up chakra and created strings which attached to Sara.

Minato stared up at the ginormous puppet in apprehension. "_That is Mukade?_" He asked, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach made itself known.

Naruto nodded, slight fear shining in his eyes, "Yes, that is Mukade."

"So… Sasori replaced his body with puppet parts then?" Minato asked.

"Yeah, I didn't fight him, but one of my teammates did and according to her, it was really annoying when he switched bodies during the fight, I think we can expect something similar." Naruto commented almost calmly.

Minato turned to his adult teammates, "Chouza, Shibi, stall Mukade while Naruto and I get everyone else to safety."

"Yes Minato-sama," they replied.

"Very funny guys…" Minato muttered, rolling his eyes as they left, shaking his head as the adults laughed, and he wanted to be these guy's Superior Officer?

A Fox's Tail

They all stood in the square at the center of the city, "Nowhere else to run," Minato muttered as he and his kit surveyed the crowd. "How are we going to protect all these people?"

Naruto shrugged helplessly, "I don't know Tou-sama, out here they could get stepped on, but if we hide them in a building…" the younger blond trailed off.

"…Mukade could kill them all by making the building collapse." Minato finished the morose thought. "I wish there was a place we could put them!"

"Um…" The queen approached the two fuming Shinobi cautiously.

"Hm?" Minato turned to her, "Yes Sara-sama? You have an idea?"

"Well…" She looked down sadly, "I'm sorry I didn't believe you before… This might not have happened…"

"Chin up Ojo-sama." Naruto told her, giving her his chakra sword, "You have to lead your people the best you can. You should never second guess yourself."

She nodded, "You're right Naruto." She took the blade and cut her dress, which had Minato face palming mentally.

"…Why did she have to do that…?" Minato wondered.

Naruto shrugged helplessly in response, he was somewhat used to these kinds of displays, he seemed to inspire _every single person_ he met who had a sob story to share. …Now if only this power would work on Sasuke…

"I know of a place." Sara told them confidently. "There is a place under the city that my mother and I used to use as a sanctuary; we called it the Dragon's Garden."

Naruto blinked, remembering what happened to the puppets that had tried to get to him while he was there. "You mean the place where I first saw you?"

"Yes, there." Sara confirmed.

"Then take us there." Minato ordered her as they heard a roar in the distance. "Mukade will be here any minute."

Sara nodded, "This way," she called loudly as she led them to a stairway leading down into the bowels of the city.

"Naruto and I will bring up the rear to protect you and your people." Minato told her as Naruto began ushering the men and women down the stairs.

Sara nodded, taking the lead.

A Fox's Tail

The large group of people hadn't gone very far down the stair case, Mukade burst in behind them. "Sara…" He said in a growling roar.

Minato turned, glaring at the puppet. "Naruto, you keep going, it looks like Mukade might not have heard of me, I can use that to my advantage."

Naruto gave his father a nervous look. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Minato told him, waving him onward, "Keep going, I'll try and stall him for as long as I can."

Naruto nodded reluctantly as he turned and ran to catch up to Sara.

Mukade laughed, "You think you can beat me?" he asked.

Minato smirked viciously in a foxy way, "I don't think Mukade, I _know_ I can beat you." Minato jumped into the air, "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He called, throwing a shuriken at the huge construct. Mukade struck out at Minato, catching him off guard.

Minato gasped as he landed hard nest to Naruto, who shot him a concerned look. Minato shook his head, "We need to keep going."

Naruto nodded, "I'll try to stall him this time, Tou-sama." Someone needed to do it.

Minato nodded reluctantly, he didn't want Naruto to get hurt, but he knew that he would never be able to keep Naruto from fighting; he'd gotten that from his mother after all.

Naruto created several Kage Bunshin and had one help him to create a Rasengan after Minato headed down to protect the civilians. He was just as successful as his father. He was flung and skidded down the stairs a few steps but got right back up, much to Minato's alarm. The next time he was hit, Minato caught him.

"You exist to terrify me don't you, Naruto-kit?" Minato asked his son sarcastically.

"Eh," Naruto gave him an apologetic look and got up with a little help from his father. "Thanks." Naruto looked up at the approaching ninja, "I have to say that I agree with Sakura-chan about how annoying this is…"

Minato nodded in agreement. "Let's retreat for now."

Naruto nodded, "Yes Tou-sama, lets. We have to figure something out though…" the younger blond said as they reached the bottom of the staircase.

Minato nodded grimly as he checked on Sara. "Well?"

"The door is jammed." She replied, "We can't get it open."

Minato took a deep breath, "Well, good luck then, we'll try to keep him away from you, but you had better hurry."

Sara nodded in understanding as she pushed the sword into the hole and tried to push it in. with everyone's help, she was able to open the door. "Everybody inside!"

While the civilians raced passed the queen she hung back, "Sorry," she said as the doors began to close, "But there's something that I need to do."

Minato knelt next to Naruto, "Are you alright, My Kit?" the elder Namikaze asked in concern.

Naruto nodded as he sat up, "Yeah, but I don't think I can continue much longer…"

"Sometimes, Naruto-kit, you can't mold chakra simply because you are too tired, not because you don't have any left, hold your hands out and I'll help you create a Rasengan." Minato whispered.

"But the Rasengan is a technique that the Yondaime Hokage created…" Naruto protested quietly, flinching as their enemy came closer.

"I assure you Naruto-kit," Minato smirked, "I can do it. How, get up and hold out your hands so we can end this!"

Naruto nodded and took the hand that his father held out for him to take and got up. He held his hands out as Minato created a Rasengan between his own. Naruto gave his father a small grin as the twin Rasengan spun in their hands. "This is so cool…"

Minato gave Naruto a winning smile, "Of course it is, now, I am going to combine them. Then I am going to go open up his weak point, I found it earlier, no worries ok?"

Naruto nodded as his father pushed their Rasengan together, creating something new. Now, held up between them, incasing them in a mix of blue and green light, Minato gave Naruto a concerned look. _"This attack is rather unstable so we have to work fast, as soon as I open up his weak point you need to move, got it? My chakra can rebel against you at any time."_

Naruto nodded and his father pulled away, dashing towards their enemy, Minato dared not look back as he pulled out a kunai. "Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he called, flinging his projectile at the monster.

Naruto watched closely as the thousands of kunai hit their target and caught sight of what Mukade had originally tuned into. He leapt into action, thrusting the Rasengan through Mukade and out the other side. He raced back to his father's side and with the deed done; they hurried into the Ryuumiakuu chamber, where the queen had turned it off, allowing them to kill their opponent.

Naruto turned back to the entrance just in time to see what was left of Mukade's new body fall into the energy. "…Crap…" Naruto muttered as he hurried forward again.

The Ryuumiakuu quickly became unstable, the bridge started to collapse out from under them. The part of the bridge that Sara was standing on fell first, Naruto (who was closer) grabbed her wrist to pull her back up. Then the part he was standing on fell out from under him.

Minato saw. "Kit!" he called as took hold of his son, he was quiet sure that they would all fall to their deaths but then, they were grabbed by… wood? "Well… this is interesting…" Minato muttered as they were set down on the platform at the center of the chamber. "Are you alright, Ruto-kit?" he asked as he looked down at his son.

Naruto let the queen go, leaning into his father's hold slightly when the man didn't let go, "Yeah Tou-san, I'm fine…"

Minato pulled back as Kakashi appeared. "Tou-san, you ok?" the boy asked.

"Yes 'Kashi, Naru-kit and I are just fine now." Minato replied.

"Good, I wouldn't want Otouto to get hurt." Kakashi grinned as Naruto and Yamato began to glow. "Huh?"

Minato smiled sadly at his young son. "Looks like it's time for us to part, Naruto. It's time for you to go home. Be careful, and remind Kakashi of his promises."

"Yes Tou-sama." Naruto replied with tears in his eyes. he didn't want to leave, "I don't want…"

"Sh…" Minato brushed their cheeks together one last time. "It'll be alright Naruto-kit." He didn't want his son to leave either but, "Time is correcting itself now that Mukade is gone, soon you and your companion will return to once you came. But don't fear Naruto." Minato knelt.

"Tou…" Naruto breathed.

_"You and I, and Kakashi won't forget. We'll hold you close in our hearts until we can see you again."_ Minato whispered into Naruto's mind. "Metsu!"

_"Tou! What did you do?"_ Naruto asked when a seal wrote itself out beneath their feet as Chouza and Shibi came to stand on either side of his father.

_"I am erasing all non-clan members' memories of you. They would mess things up for us."_ Minato whispered against Naruto's mind gently. _"I love you Naruto, never let anyone tell you otherwise. I'm proud of you."_

"Tou…" Naruto whispered, tears in his eyes as he and Yamato disappears.

(End!)

FINALY! Man this is hard! Pulling Teeth I tell you! This is long too… The name is a play on words; anyone who got that should reward themselves with a cookie! I suppose this could also be a Father's Day fic too, not sure how though. But today is a day to honor fathers like Minato!

Holy _crap_ this is long!

Footnotes:

[1] Jiraiya is a pervert, it's a well-known fact. I would not be surprised if Minato (and later Kushina) called him on it in public like Naruto does, (Although they might be more respectful about it…)

[2] Kakashi calls Minato Tou-san, Father, because Minato stepped up and took care of him after Sakumo died; I truly believe that Kakashi thinks of Minato this way. This is a variant of that.

[3] Todd is Male Fox, and Alpha is leader, the 'top dog' so to speak, this is how Minato views the Hokage.

[4] We don't know much about summons do we? My foxes are going to be telepathic, it makes them useful on the battlefield and for recon, since I have put a _kill on sight_ order on the family I figured I should start to introduce some of their abilities, being telepathic means that they can communicate with their summoners, even if the summoners might not be able to reply, (I'm not sure if I'm going to do that yet, I'm still working on it.) If I decide to make the Namikaze telepathic as well then it will only be between other Namikaze (_blood/blood adoption only_) and the Fox Summons Clan. If the Namikaze aren't telepathic then the Foxes will also be able to read minds, I'm leaning towards the Namikaze Clan being telepathic.

[5] I believe the crooked nose thing is a roman leadership thing… it's been a while so I'm not sure but I think it was mentioned in one of Reaper Nanashi's fics… Timespan! That was it. (Go read it, it's Awesome!)

[6] Decision made, the Namikaze are telepathic, but only with family, which is why Naruto can hear the conversation. Kakashi can hear it too, but he refuses to take the Namikaze name, he doesn't want his own family, the Hatake to go extinct. (Namikaze to Namikaze, Namikaze to Fox, and Fox to Fox.) This way, Minato's clan isn't a bunch of overpowered OCs.

[7] Sasori turned himself into a puppet. Mukade did the same in the movie, I was actually surprised (and a bit disappointed) with Naruto didn't comment of that, especially since I think this movie takes place sometime between the point where Jiraiya dies and Naruto goes to train with the toads. I always assumed that Sakura would tell her teammates how her fight went and how annoying it must have been when Sasori kept switching bodies as Sakura took them out…

But I bet the restrictions I've placed on the Namikaze Clan's abilities won't stop _someone_ from complaining about Mary-Sues and such…

I decided not to add in what happens when Naruto returns to the future, I was actually thinking about writing a fic where Minato manages to use the knowledge he gains here to change the future. Thus it gives me a little bit of wiggle room with just how the changes will effect Naruto, if at all. As always, questions, comments? Review!

Neph


End file.
